Hello everyone, welcome back!
I should say now, I wrote this before I'd seen Smith and Jones, so some of the information in it contradicts the episode, as I'm sure some more information in later chapters will also contradict later episodes. But in my little Doctor Who universe Jack is also there, so things would have gone a bit differently. Yay for Jack coming back in this series!
I know Martha is and probably will be at times out of character, but with only one episode of her there's little to base her character on. I've done my best!
Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who
xxx
Martha felt as if she was going to die. Her legs ached with a burning pain every time her heavy feet landed on the ground. Air rushed in and out of her lungs in ragged breaths as her heart tried desperately to keep up with the overwhelming demand.
It was moments like this she lived for.
The adrenaline pumping through her veins was the only thing keeping her going, as the ground shook from the staggeringly big monster that was running after her. She was pulled along faster as Jack ran ahead of her, his hand grasping hers. He pulled her into a corner, her legs almost giving way beneath her as she struggled to regain her footing. Ahead of her was a huge, metal door that was descending at a speed she wasn't altogether comfortable with. Jack pulled her along faster as the door got closer and closer to the ground. She found herself being pulled down as they both skidded under the door, as it hit the ground with a thump behind her.
Martha remained sitting on the ground, breathless and panting as she heard the alien that had been following them bang on the door. Jack jumped to his feet and once again held the phone to his ear.
"We made it, Doc!"
"Brilliant! Now get the hell out of there, it's only a matter of time before the alarms automatically go off."
Martha vaguely recognised the Doctor's voice coming from the phone, quiet and crackly. She turned around to find Jack holding his hand out to her. He pulled her to her feet as she gratefully took it, and they both started to jog down the corridor.
"Where are we going now?" she asked breathlessly, trying to catch up with Jack.
"We're meeting the Doctor back at the TARDIS," he informed her, as they turned a corner. Martha nodded, glad that they were finally able to return to what she thought of now as her new home.
xxx
The seat in the control room was somewhat comfier than she remembered it, as she collapsed on it when she and Jack reached the TARDIS. She ran her hands through her tangled hair as Jack walked around the control room, wondering aloud where the Doctor was.
"Maybe he's just not back yet," she suggested, trying to get the knots out of her hair.
"Probably," Jack agreed as he sat next to her. She leant into him, dropping her hands to her sides. They'd come to this planet for a relaxing day off then found out that these blood-thirsty creatures were trying to devour its population, and naturally they had to stop this. The galactic police, or someone like that, had found out and were on their way to sort it out, and the Doctor being the Doctor wanted to get away before they were dragged into the investigation.
Jack put his arm around her shoulders, allowing her to move closer to him. Surprisingly, he wasn't out of breath, which Martha was extremely jealous of. He and the Doctor never seemed to get out of breath. As she felt his hand on her shoulder, she thought for a second about what had happened to her over the last few weeks.
She'd been travelling with the Doctor and Jack for exactly a month now, which was partly the reason they'd decided to take a break. When she'd first met the Doctor she'd instantly fancied him, he was, after all, rather sexy. She'd then met Jack who was also rather sexy, and found herself liking him more as he was sexy and knew it and had no problem with using it. The Doctor seemed almost asexual. He only touched her if he needed to, to pull her along while they were running or something.
When she'd first seen the TARDIS and found out the Doctor was actually an alien, it had put her off him somewhat. But over the next week or so she'd realised that the fact he was an alien didn't really matter, as Jack seemed to sleep with anything that moved (and a lot of things that didn't). At first she'd tried to get closer to Jack, but she wanted a boyfriend that was for good and not just a one-night stand, something she clearly wouldn't get with him. But it was even harder to get any closer to the Doctor. But it didn't take her long to realise that this was probably because of Rose.
He'd mentioned her when she'd first come on board and she'd made a mental note to find out more about Rose, but even now all she knew about his famed former companion was that she used to travel with them. They both seemed to go rather tight-lipped whenever she asked about Rose. At first she'd thought that Rose and the Doctor had been more then friends, mainly because of the way he looked when he thought about her, staring into space with a distant look in his eyes, as if he had nothing left. But she guessed that couldn't be true, he never seemed to get close to anybody. So right now she believed Rose was just a friend of theirs, and had assumed Rose was dead. But sometimes she still wondered if maybe he did feel more for Rose than just a platonic love, and maybe, maybe, she could do something to heal his broken heart.
She was suddenly brought back to reality as the TARDIS doors opened, and the Doctor came in.
"Finally!" Jack said, jumping up off the chair causing Martha to nearly topple over, "where've you been?"
"The galactic police found me," he said with a long sigh, "you have no idea how hard it is to get away from them." He sprinted up to the consol, and started up the engines. "You ok Martha?" he asked, glancing over at the woman half lying on the seat.
"Yeah, great," she answered quickly, standing up.
"Good," the Doctor muttered, looking up at the central column as the engines ground up and down inside it. "So, where to next?" he asked with a grin.
"Bloody hell, calm down!" Martha gasped, "We only just escaped with our lives from one planet, I think we need a bit of a break!"
"You humans, always wanting breaks," the Doctor muttered with distaste, "Alright then, I know just the place," he twisted a few dials on the consol and pulled up a lever. A second later, the TARDIS landed. He looked up with a grin. "Go on," he said, gesturing towards the door, "You'll love it."
"As long as there's no blood-sucking monsters out there," Martha said cautiously.
"I guarantee there's no blood-sucking monsters out there," the Doctor said with a sigh, "now go on, get out there," he waited as Martha walked across the room to the doors. She pushed them open, and stepped out.
As Martha walked out onto the orange grass, she looked around herself in amazement. In front of her stretched a park like on Earth, but with orange grass and leaves. There was a water fountain to the side spraying golden water into the air. Her gaze strayed upwards and she was met by a brilliant red-orange sky, in which she could clearly see the nearest planet and numerous stars, despite the fact it looked like daytime.
"Wow," she whispered in awe. Jack stood by her side, looking around with a smile on his face. She heard the door close behind her as the Doctor stepped out.
"We're on the planet Rureby, in the Scarlet System," he looked down at Martha, who was looking around with wide eyes. "What do you think?" he asked with a smile.
"It's… amazing," she whispered, at a loss for what else to say. A grin spread across her face, as she ran out into the park, ready to explore.
xxx
The three travellers sat under a tree, the orange and yellow leaves providing shade from the two bright suns that shone in the sky. Martha leant back on her hands, one leg straight and the other bent, staring upwards. Jack was laying flat on his back, his hands behind his head. The Doctor leant against the tree, his legs bent against his chest, resting his arms on his knees, watching his two companions thoughtfully.
"What's the planet called?" Martha asked, turning to face the Doctor. In the sky there was a large planet with two rings, so big it couldn't have been far away from Rureby.
"Krinsof," the Doctor answered, "Good planet, but no where near as nice as this one. Bit too industrial for me," he wrinkled his nose as he looked at the planet. Martha looked back at the planet, and leant back on her elbows.
"I'm impressed," she said, "we've been here over an hour and no aliens have turned up trying to eat us. You were right for once, this place is safe." The Doctor sat up and frowned at Martha.
"What, don't you trust me?" he asked incredulously.
"Oh I do," Martha said quickly, turning to face him again, "it's just 90 percent of the time you say we're going somewhere safe and we end up running for our lives." The Doctor didn't say anything, but chose to glare at Martha.
"She has got a point, you know," Jack said, looking up at the Doctor. He and Martha laughed as the Doctor looked away and shook his head.
"Honestly, I give you the universe and all you can do is insult me! I should drop you both back on Earth right now." They both sniggered again, and the Doctor couldn't help but smile.
"Though, even if we aren't being chased by aliens, I remember one time you took us to a planet but got the date 100 years out and we ended up trying to get back to the TARDIS before the planet exploded. I wouldn't be surprised if that happened now," Martha teased with a playful smile.
"Nah, it's centuries before this place is gone. Besides, it doesn't explode, the whole galaxy is pulled into a black hole. I should know, I was there," he stared into space thoughtfully, his eyes distant. Martha instantly recognised the look as being one he had when he thought about Rose.
"What happened?" she asked quietly, not sure whether to ask or not.
"Oh you know, the usual," he answered, his voice as distant as his eyes, "impossible planets, running from aliens, life or death, met the devil… normal stuff."
"You met the devil!?" Martha gasped, staring at him.
"Well, he called himself the devil. Still not sure if I believe him or not."
"What happened?" Martha asked curiously, "was he trying to take over the universe or something? How did you stop him?"
"Sorta trying to take over the universe, yeah. I didn't do much, I just sent the body into the black hole. It was the mind that was escaping, and…" he trailed off, lost in his own thoughts and memories. His eyes flicked down to the ground, and he ran a hand through his hair. "Rose stopped him," he said quietly. Martha and Jack remained silent, as she shifted awkwardly, regretting bringing the subject up. A sad but proud smile came to the Doctor's face. "We wouldn't be here now if it wasn't for her," he said quietly. He then looked up to the sky, taking a deep breath. A second later he jumped to his feet and began to walk off. Martha was about to go after him, but Jack stopped her; he knew the Doctor needed some time alone.
xxx
Martha sat on the edge of the fountain, running her hand through the golden water. It was cool on her skin, refreshing in the hot atmosphere. She looked at the people around her; children laughing as they played their games, adults sitting on benches talking together, all with orange tinted skin that made it look like they'd used slightly too much self-tan.
She noticed a familiar man walking towards her, and smiled at Jack as he sat on the fountain next to her.
"We should probably get going, this place gets freezing at night," he said. Martha sighed, lifting her hand out of the water and wiping it off on her jeans.
"Ok," she mumbled, like a child who's just been told their playtime was up. Jack stood up and started to walk back to the TARDIS, and she reluctantly followed him.
xxx
Inside the TARDIS, the Doctor was already sitting on the chair waiting for them.
"You're back!" he announced, standing up and walking to the consol. "See, told ya I could take you somewhere relaxing," he said snugly as the engines started up.
"Ok, ok," Martha said, rolling her eyes. She then found herself yawning, and quickly covered her mouth.
"You're not tired already?" the Doctor moaned, "You lot are always sleeping. You'd sleep your life away with half a chance."
"Not our fault we need more than two hours a night," Jack argued jokingly, but he knew there was a deeper reason why the Doctor didn't sleep.
"Go on you two," the Doctor said with a roll of the eyes, "To bed. Hop it," He watched as Martha headed towards the door.
"Night," she said as she exited the room. The two men watched the door for a few seconds, until Jack turned to the Doctor.
"You ok?" he asked, and the Doctor turned to him.
"Yeah, fine, why wouldn't I be?" Jack have him a knowing look.
"Are you ever going to tell her?" he asked, and the Doctor knew what he was talking about.
"She doesn't need to know," he said simply. Jack nodded, and headed to the door.
"See ya later," he said as he walked out.
"Bye," the Doctor muttered, then pressed a button on the consol. Something flashed on the screen as it beeped negative. He sighed the same sigh he had every day for the last five years. He had almost lost hope in ever getting back to the woman he loved.
xxx
Martha slept soundly in her bed, wrapped in the extra soft sheets that only the TARDIS seemed able to provide. It had taken her a while to get used to the humming of the engines, but now they seemed to lull her to sleep.
Suddenly there was a loud bang as the room lurched. She woke up instantly and looked around herself in surprise, her chest heaving. The engines died down back to normal, and she was about to lay back down when the room lurched again and she was throw out of her bed across the room. She lay on the floor entangled in her covers for a few moments as the room rocked around her. She struggled against the duvet and kicked it away from her before jumping up and running out of the door.
xxx
By the time she got to the consol room Jack was already there watching the Doctor jump around the consol trying to stabilise the TARDIS. Martha's cheeks flushed a bright red when she saw that Jack was wearing nothing but a pair of boxers. She herself was wearing a strappy pyjama top and trousers. Jack gave her a cheeky grin and a wink, but they were quickly thrown to the side as the room lunged again.
"What's happening!?" Martha shouted over the noise of the struggling engines.
"The TARDIS is being pulled in by something," the Doctor shouted back, "But I don't know what!" he hit a lever and the shaking subsided. "I've stopped it, for now. You two better go get dressed - especially you Jack." The consol beeped and the Doctor lowered himself down into the wires below the floor, as Jack and Martha ran out of the door to their rooms.
xxx
Martha had had a suitably tricky time getting dressed, and it hadn't got any better by the time she'd stumbled back to the control room. Jack was trying to help the Doctor pilot the TARDIS, and by the sound of the Doctor's annoyed voice, he wasn't doing a very good job of it. Eventually they were all thrown to the ground as the TARDIS roughly landed. The Doctor instantly jumped up and looked at the screen.
"Where are we?" Jack asked as he stood up.
"I don't know," the Doctor replied thoughtfully, "I think... I don't know." Jack held out his hand to Martha, who gratefully took it. He pulled her up as the Doctor started to walk to the doors.
"I thought you said you didn't know where we are," Martha said, and the Doctor stopped as he reached the doors.
"I don't," he said simply.
"Then it's not safe to go out!" She argued, but the Doctor just have her a grin.
"When's it ever safe to go out?" he asked, then walked out the doors.
